Method of smelting.



i. W. NESMITH, DEGD.

H. M. omnoon, EXEGUTOR. METHOD OF SMELTING. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 20,1910.

Patented 511116 13, 1911.

XMWWX\ FL I INVENTOR 27072172 V 7242:53 1, deceased.

WITNESSES.-

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JOHN V7. IlESIlII'I'H, BECE ESFES, LEXIE GE DENVER. COI.i3'il-ADO, BYHARPER Mi ORAHGOD,

ERECUTOB, OF IXENVER, CEL'ELOEADQ, .e'i.

PAT-TY, DENVER, CGlSORADU, A COBPORATIUN 0F COLORADO.

IIIETHOD 03E SMIELTIIJG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

FIFE/tonteilv June 3%., 1911.

Application filed October 28, 153-10. Serial No. 589,274.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that JUNK lV, hnsurrn, deceased, lute ii citizen of the liuted States,

and resident of Deliver, Colorado, (lid invent certain new and useful.lupiproveincnts in Methods of Slnclting, of which the following is n s'ieoifiention.

This invention relates to the treatment of concentrates, snltid linesand other line ores, flue dust, and the like by subjecting them Whileginsuspension to a high degree of heat, with or without chemical reactionsdepending upon the nature of the atmosphere in which they are suspended,and causing them, While in such highly hen ted or fused condition toIflll upon and unite with a bath of already s nelted material, provisionagainst the escape of the fines being nnide as will be described.

'lheiinvention me y be conveniently untried outin What may be termed ahydn'ienrbon blast furnace, Whieh is A, furnace Whcrein' the heatnecessary to be produced by earbonnceons fuel or its equii-ulent, aspetroleum or other hydrocarbon or sulfur for its smelting operation, isproduced in n fire box or combustion chamber, and is projected orintroduced by convection, together with the gaseous products oi itscombustion, into the blast furnace and thus into contact with the courseores being charged in above, and it is not necessary that fuel be burnedin the blast lf'urnnce stuck in Contact with the ores.

The ii'nprovenient consists essentially in converting the course re inthe steel: to a fused or molten condition by a smelting heat generatedin a combustion chamber, and projected into the blast furnace, andcontinuously or intern'iittingly projecting lines into the combustionotnnnher under pressure and substantially horizontally whereby they {1P0subjected to an intense heat. and undergo such chen'ii ul relations asare caused oy the nature of the atmosphere within the combustionehainbci: and placed in condition to become e pert the bath on thehearth of the eoinlnnition chainboi;

l the drawing shows a, ertical section of furnace for (fhlf'lylng outthe inventiini.

The coarser ores are ehnrgiul into the blast furnace stack A in theusual Way, Wl e the sultid lines and other line ores, tine d1 7 and thelike, sire projected by pressure of air into the ntinosphere out coinion. chainher C, where they are. melted or burned mostly in suspension,mixing and combining with the smelting or fusing product of the('innsei' ores. The lines are forced in horizontnlly bythc nil" or otherpressure and are highly heated and otherwise prepared before unitingwith the molten products occupying he hearth ot the chamber C andpassing into it through the opening; 1) connecting the chamber (,3 withthe blast l'uri'niee stuck. .L, the heated gases passing on up throughthe ore column in the steel: A, heating and in ing that in. turn, suchpart of the tines as does not "hill upon the bath of molten ma- 1 teriolin the combustion. chamber being intercopied as it passes through. theinterstices of the seniifused ore charge.

The combustion cl llil'llJOl' is relatively large. has been -tound inactual operation, using petroleum or residuum as the fuel that thevolume of space in the combustion clnnnher should not be less than aboutthirty-live cubic feet for each pound of combustible burned per minute.More space is used for couibuslioi'i with improved re suits and when atleast the space stated has not been used the best results are not onlynot obtained but the smelting operation is retarded and even made,lllllflOS-SlblQ.

lillicientand accurate regulation of the air supply and of the tenor ofthe ntn'iosphcro in the chamber C, Whether reducing, neutral oroxidizing is constantly maintained. lroportionntely much or littlepetroleum or other fuel may be luirned in the combustion chamber (1,depending on colulitionsand requirements. The sulfur in sulfid fines isconserved and utilized as fuel. .lli' much sul lid tines are beingtreated then less oil is burned and a part of the sulfur of these finesutilized for heat production, other going to the nintte, the proportionsdepending on the condition of the atmosphere in the ehmnher, regulationof which is under-easy and instnntmieous control through the air and oilsupply, wherel'iy tenor of matte is deterin i v.1 smelting oxidi ores orcarbonates to black {13179617,01" oxidized or roasted ores or 12ndcnrionntes to lend, the atmosphere of the combustion chmnbcr C shouldprennderete reducing, but any over oxidation of metal or mineral thatmay take place there by reason of excess of air, is countertiece i endthe material arrested and 00ml l l l bined in the molten material comingin from the smelter stack A if a modicum of coke or charcoal is chargedon with the coarse ore for that purpose keeping the atmosphere alwaysreducing at that point.

'In previous attempts to use auxiliary twyers for the purpose ofsecuring oxidation, these, so'far as known, have been so placed as tocause the formation of a fuel is burned apart from the ore, makes thispossible. 7

In the drawings of the furnace the letters indicate at B .the twyers; Fthe slag and matte taps; G the air supply to the blast furnace; H theair supply to the combustion chamber; K the bustle pipe on the blastfurnace, and L the oil fuel burners.

A water pipe is provided as shown at I, to cool the bridge at thejunction of the space D with the stack. The combustion chamber may alsobe water jacketedv if found necessary or desirable. t

In carrying out the invention it has been i found that it is impossibleto operate with the slag and matte taps directly beneath the stack, orindeed Within range of the semifiuid or viscous mass, the result beingto clog the outlets and prevent the flow of metal. But by elongating thecombustion chamber as shown, and arranging the slag and matte tapsbeyond the reach of the clogging effect of the viscous mass and at thepoint where nothing but the fluid materials can possibly reach theoutlet, perfect results are secured. The fines are discharged into thehopper a and as they fall into the pipe E they come under the action ofa jet of air entering at b, and are forced under pressure through ,thepipe 0 substantially horizontally into the combustion chamber C. The oilor like fuel is fed in through the burner d and the supply is controlledby suitable valves 6.

It will be observedthat the furnace shown is not designed solely for thepurpose of treating fine ores, bgilt for carrying out a method by whichfine ores, concentrates, flue dust and the like, may be smeltedsimultaneously with coarser ores undergoing smelting in the samefurnace, and forming the. principal smelting operation, this mainsmelting operation proceeding continuously, while the feeding of thefine ore may be intermittent, if desired. I

The advantages arising from the use of this 'method consist in theability to smelt the current production of flue dust, as well asmoderate quantities of fine ore and concent-rates unsuitable asconstituents of the main ore charge, and Which'ordinarily are treatedonly at great expense. Furthermore,

in the case of concentrates rich in sulfur, thev sulfur thereincontained is utilized as fuel to a large extent, 'and reduces the amountof:-

oil or other fuel necessary to be admitted through the burner L.

What is claimed is:

1. The herein described method of smelt ing coarse and fine ores,consistingv in generating a smelting heat in a combustion chamber,converting the' coarse ore to a fused or molten condition by such heat,and

projecting fines horizontally into thecombustion chamber Where they aretreated in suspension, substantially as described.

2. The herein described method, consisting in generating a smelting heatin a combustion chamber, converting ore thereby to a fused or moltencondition, and as a sec ondary operation injecting fines under pressureto the combustion chamber whereby the fines are treated in an atmosphereof combustion, substantially as described; C

3. The herein described method of smelting, consisting in generating 32Lsmelting heat in a combustion chamber, directing the heat to a column ofore to convert the ore to a fused or'molten condition, and projectingfines intermittingly into the combustion chamber, substantially asdescribed.

HARPER M. ORAHOOD,

Ememttor of t he last will and testament of It is hereby certified thatin Letters Patent No. 995,366, granted June [8, 1911,

upon the application of John W. Nesmith, deceased, by Harper M. Orahood,of

Denver, Colorado, for an improvement in Methods of Smeltin'g', the Stateof incorporation of the assignee was erroneously given as Coloradowhereas said State should have been given flirtin and that the saidLetters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the samemay conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 1st day of August, A. D., 1911.

SEALQ E. MOORE,

Umnmz'ssioner of Patents.

